Investigations on the process and product parameters of radio frequency‐induced accelerated aged paddy

Abstract The present study was conducted with an aim to reduce the aging time of paddy through the application of radio frequency (RF) heating. The effects of paddy moisture content and RF exposure time on various quality attributes of rice were investigated using response surface methodology. Both moisture content and RF exposure time were set at five levels between 11–21.5% and 17–208 min, respectively. The process variables significantly affected all the quality parameters except kernel elongation ratio, non‐reducing sugars, trough viscosity, hardness, and stickiness. Models obtained for these parameters were highly significant ( p ≤ .0027) with high coefficient of determination ( R 2 ≥ .893). Optimum conditions to induce accelerated aging in paddy using RF heating were 45 min of RF exposure time at 16.3% moisture content of paddy. The outcome of the study could be very useful for researchers in future to plan in depth studies on accelerated aging of paddy through RF heating. Practical Applications Freshly harvested rice is less preferred by consumers because of its poor cooking properties. However, natural aging takes a long time to induce desirable quality changes in rice, while accelerating aging improves the quality of rice more rapidly. However, all the accelerated aging methods reported so far have many limitations such as restricted penetration power, lower efficiency, and slow heating. Radio frequency (RF) heating is undoubtedly superior to all such heating methods due to its deeper penetration power, faster heating, and suitability to process bulk materials. The outcome of this study in terms of predictive models and optimized conditions of RF exposure time and moisture content, if properly manipulated can help to induce desirable quality changes in rice within the shortest period of time. Inference drawn from the present study was that the RF heating can emerge as a novel approach to induce accelerating aging in rice.